Ami 6 Sedan Club (luxury version)

Family tree

M35

GS

ZX

C4 1st generation

C-Cactus

C4 Cactus

Citroën Ami 6 1961

Citroën Ami 6 1961

Let's take a quick look at the Citroën range at the end of the 1950's. First the 2CV, then the ID 19. What's between the two? Well, a gap. Or rather an opportunity for the managers at the Quai de Javel factory! The MI Project (meaning "intermediate model", and renamed M Project) gives birth to the Ami 6 in April 1961.

Indiscretions

Flaminio Bertoni is not short of original ideas for the M Project. It's true that budgetary restrictions impose a reworking of the 2CV platform and its 2-cylinder engine in order to increase the displacement. Other constraints relate to the famous reverse-sloping rear window that allows a compromise between passenger compartment roominess and trunk volume.
And what about the name? Well, Citroën would like to feminise and urbanise its clientele, so it associates the English term "Mrs" with the figure 6 of its horsepower. A deliberate decision illustrated by the "chic Parisian" style of the advertising around its launch on 24th April 1961.
The Ami 6 finds its target and then capitalises on its success with the launch of its station-wagon version in 1965. Four years later, it is replaced by the trendier Ami 8 with a modern, less radical hatchback rear end in the saloon version.